Ohio Color Photo
Disposable Cameras By Dagmar
I would like to share some inside information on value in the photographic industry and give you the fruit of things I've seen this past year that can save you hundreds of dollars and help you to be happier with your pictures.
Two brides got married. The first bride's mother bought disposable wedding cameras to place on the tables at the reception so guests could take pictures of the event. The second bride's mother thought she'd do better than the first by calling all the stores she could think of in order to get the absolute lowest price. She beat out the first bride by $49.00. Both families spent the same amount of money on the developing, which ended up costing about $150.00. The first family, who paid more because the cameras were loaded with a name brand film, brought home wonderful pictures, rich in color and were fairly well exposed. The second family took home pictures that were grainy and very dark. They were so disappointed.
Poor Composition and Film Quality.
Better composition with high-quality film, Notice the difference?
There is a time and a place for cutting corners and buying the less expensive cameras, but not at a wedding, and not on a vacation. Pay a little more and you'll have something worth looking at 5 or ten years from now.
Not all cameras are alike. Please be aware some are recycled and sometimes the recycled, reloaded cameras have problems and are not loaded with good quality film. How can you tell? For special events buy only name brand cameras and film, such as Kodak, Fuji etc. Stay away from outdated products or those with names you've never heard of, like “Batman Film” or “Lucky Film”.
Second example: two people went on an Alaskan cruise. The man bought a $300 camera and 20 rolls of film. The woman bought 20 disposable cameras. She came to find out a person pays a lot for the “convenience” of carrying a disposable.
They both paid about the same for processing and the man got much sharper pictures, had better quality pictures with his indoor flash shots than the woman.
The flash on a throwaway camera is much weaker than standard cameras and, in order to compensate for this fact, the manufacturers load them with high-speed film which is often much more grainy than the lower speed films. For all the cameras the woman threw away, she would have had $250.00, which would have paid for a digital camera that would have taken better photos of her trip.
So, where's the value? Go with less but better if you have to.
In the end you'll be much happier with sharper, brighter images. Remember, one usually gets what one pays for.
